The invention is designed for use on a gas or piston-operated automatic or semiautomatic firearm such as a carbine, rifle, or pistol so as to relocate operation of the charging handle of a firearm, such as a Colt M4A1 5.56 carbine, M-16, AR-15, or AR-10. It can also be used with other similar firearms.
The charging handle of said firearm comprises a shaft having a forward end portion in the direction of the firearm barrel and a rearward end portion in the direction of the firearm stock. The rearward end portion has a latch engaging the receiver of the firearm to hold the charging handle in a forward most position.
The current method of operation of the charging handle includes holding the firearm with a first hand engaging the pistol grip and a second hand holding the foregrip. The user then, removes the first or second hand from either the pistol grip or the foregrip, firmly grabs the charging handle, disengaging the latch from the receiver of the firearm, and pulls the charging handle towards the rear of the firearm. When the charging handle can no longer travel to the rear, the user releases the charging handle and allows the charging handle to return to the forward position via spring force within the firearm. This method is cumbersome because it results in the position of the hand that is used to operate the charging handle to move to a body position that requires the majority of the weight of the rifle, being in the barrel and forward end, to be supported from a position in the rear of the rifle rather than a more comfortable position closer to the front of the rifle. In addition, the current method, without use of the present invention, can require the user to dismount the firearm from their shoulder and remove their face from the sightline of the firearm in order to have sufficient clearance for their arm to move in relation to their body and the mounted clearance of the firearm.
In contrast, the present invention changes and simplifies the standard operation of the charging handle of a firearm explained above. In particular, the present invention provides a simple means of comfortably pushing the charging handle to its rear position.